After rejecting a taxi for the benefit of a cheaper fare, we saved ourselves 3 soles (60p) but also had the good fortune of meeting who is to be surely remembered as the first memorable character of our trip - Mr Jernando, the taxi driver. In a 15 minute ride across Lima he took it upon himself to teach us the ins and outs of the city's main thoroughfares and traffic patterns. Fiercely proud of his city and eager to inform and educate the hapless tourist he extracted out of us every last inch of Spanish we could utter. He even managed to communicate to us that he was once a ministerial chauffeur (part of his 28-year stint as a taxi driver); prior to that he was a technician on a Peruvian submarine.
We didn't appreciate at the time what a rare character he'd be, for although taxi drivers and people generally have been very friendly, noone has put in so much effort to make conversation with us and make us feel welcome as the enthusiastic Mr Jernando.
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